Forced
by Skylark Evanson
Summary: "You are aware of what happened to his… behavior after you died in the training, aren't you?"


**A/N: "Disordered" is a terrible follow-up to "Failsafe"… but the way they wrote the little therapy sessions is FanFiction GOLD. Come on, they left all those conversations open ended _just_ _for us_. You know it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

Forced

"So the person you're most worried about… is Wally."

Her eyes widened, and her gaze jolted back up to Black Canary. Yet, in her eyes, she was submissive. There was no more denying it. Of course she was worried about Wally. She had to be. He taunted her for everything, for anything. She was terrified at the mere thought of Wally finding out she was Sportsmaster's daughter. If he got his paws on that, who knows what he'd do. "Yeah." She kept her arms tight around her and tucked her knees to her chest again. "Yeah, I'm worried about Wally."

Finally, she was getting somewhere. After living in such a hostile environment, the girl was finally settling down into something similar to a family. She was finally safe to trust somebody. She had found people who cared about her now, and Dinah knew how hard that would be to let go of. "Why?"

Now her eyes narrowed. "Because he'd call me out. He'd figure out that I tried to kill him, he'd ruin my life. If he found out I live in Gotham, I'd be trolled every ten seconds! Don't even get me started on him catching a whiff of me not being GA's niece. He'd be all over me and trying to get Red Arrow back." Her teeth clenched. "Yeah, I'm worried about Wally finding out a lot of things. He'd make my life a living Hell."

"You are aware of what happened to his… behavior after you died in the training, aren't you?"

Artemis shifted uncomfortably. "No." She knew a little bit. That things had gotten crazy. That everyone had died. That she was the one who started it. She was the one who made them all suffer that… misery. It was her fault. She knew that. But she hadn't gotten many more specifics than that.

Yet there were some things that she did notice. She'd seen the way Wally and Robin were shooting glances at each other, the way Megan twitched uncomfortably around her, the way Conner seemed so passive about the whole thing, Kaldur's guilty behavior. She wasn't stupid. She saw things. And everyone was always prickling around her. They were always guilty around her, always shooting her sad glances. She wasn't stupid. She knew her death did something severe to all of them.

But she didn't hear anything about Wally in specific. "What happened?" She couldn't stop herself. She was too willing to listen. Something secretive about Wally was too good to pass up.

"From what I've learned, from what J'onn experienced while taking care of the situation, Wally's behavior grew… erratic." The blonde woman kept her eye on the archer's reaction. She watched for a reaction from the girl. "Out of Robin's head, J'onn managed to see some memories from after you'd died. He said that Wally was screaming more than M'gann was." Black Canary noticed Artemis stiffen and tear her gaze from her elder. "He swore to kill every last one of them." Dinah knew she was getting through. "Because of you. No one else."

Artemis kept her arms tucked tight against her body. What did she do wrong to put Wally through such pain? No, her mind was foggy, no, she wanted him in pain. He tormented her for days and weeks and hours and… She wanted him to suffer. Just a little bit. Yes, just a little bit. He deserved it for all the pain he put her through. All the taunting, all the tormenting. She didn't meant to, but he completely deserved it.

But why did it bother her so much to know that he caused her pain?

"He even made up an excuse that the weapons had zeta-beam radiation." Black Canary could see the breakthrough she was making with the archer. Artemis was tense, but she was listening with an intensity that the trainer couldn't get on a normal day. Something about this girl's connection to Wally ran deeper than even Dinah could see. "He was trying to convince himself that you were still alive. Robin finally had to tell him that you were dead. He was so frustrated by all of it… He wouldn't leave Robin behind when they wanted to end it. They died together, but Robin's memories showed that Wally was whispering your name before they went out together."

She shivered, imagining Wally clinging to Robin, his last word being her name on his lips. Then fire. The whole place going up in flames. Best friends dying side-by-side. And Wally was whispering her name. Hers. Guilt racked her whole body. "Really?" She wasn't sure what to think about it. Did she regret it? Did she like it? All she knew was that it hurt and that she'd put him through far more pain than she could ever imagine. What she needed right now was time to herself, a little time away from the rest of the world…

"That's what J'onn got out of other memories. He told me enough so that I could get a grasp of what all was going on." Dinah leaned back again, now knowing her mission was accomplished. She'd gotten through to Artemis, by some miracle. "So yes, really."

It was disturbing, heartbreaking, adoring, beautiful, painful, and terrifying at the same time. She shivered again, turning her head towards her shoulder and making sure that the woman couldn't see her face or read her eyes. She wouldn't be betrayed so easily. "He hates me."

"That's not what his reaction says." Dinah could see it. They were in complete denial. Artemis wouldn't face it; she was too afraid to get attached. Wally, she had yet to process. But she figured he would have a very similar reaction, just more obvious.

"Well _I_ hate _him_." She stood up, ready to leave. Her eyes glared at the woman. "He knows that." She clenched her fists and kept her eyes watching Black Canary. Anger floated off of her in waves, like ripples from a stone dropped in water. "He needs to know that."

After Artemis was gone, Black Canary knew she was going to have to touch this same subject with Wally. She also knew Artemis had forced herself into denial. The girl didn't want to get attached.

**A/N: So review?**

**~Sky**


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